Sean Penn gets Hunted in New Trailer for 'The Gunman'

Is Sean Penn on the verge of a Liam Neeson-style renaissance as an action star? It could happen if audiences turn out to watch him beat up bad guys in The Gunman, a genre flick directed by Pierre Morel, the guy behind the first Taken. Coincidence?

A new international trailer for The Gunman suggests it could be a bit more high-minded than the Taken movies are, although it still gives Penn plenty of butts to kick. Based on the popular book series, the film centers on ex-Special Forces soldier Martin Terrier (Penn) now working as a military contractor who suddenly comes under attack from his own people. What follows is an international game of cat and mouse that will see Penn squaring off with co-stars Idris Elba, Javier Bardem, and Ray Winstone. Given the success of American Sniper it's not surprising the trailer begins with Penn's character, who suffers from PTSD, taking out a foe from long range.

The Gunman takes aim at theaters on March 20th 2015.

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It's Sean Penn vs. Javier Bardem in First 'The Gunman' Trailer

Shady government organizations, lots of guns and even more hitmen. If it sounds like the makings of Taken 4 or something, then you're only partially right. Taken director Pierre Morel is at the helm of The Gunman, which despite its barebones and familiar plot has rounded up a starry cast led by Sean Penn, Javier Bardem, and Idris Elba.

The first trailer has arrived and it's a bit more restrained than Morel's work tends to be, at least initially, so maybe he's working up to the talents of his cast? Penn plays a renowned hitman who wants out of the killing game so he can be with the love of his life, but of course things are never so simple. Bardem seems to have taken on yet another colorful role as Penn's best friend-turned-nemesis, and this trailer is just pumping machismo all over the place.

Also starring Ray Winstone, Jasmine Trinca, and Mark Rylance, The Gunman opens March 20th.

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Idris Elba and Jasmine Trinca Join Sean Penn In 'The Gunman'

It's going to be an extremely busy year for Idris Elba, one that sees him in three films that will reach wildly different audiences. This summer he'll lead the human resistance in Pacific Rim, then in November he'll defend the Rainbow Bridge in Thor: The Dark World, followed by a potential Oscar-worthy role in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. So what's he going to do next? How about starring alongside Sean Penn and Javier Bardem in the hit man thriller, The Gunman?

THR reports that Elba will join the adaptation of Jean-Patrick Manchette's novel, The Prone Gunman, which has Penn as an assassin who wants to exit the business and be with his sweetheart, but his bosses won't let him go so easily. Playing Penn's lover (according to TheWrap) is the newly-signed Jasmine Trinca (The Son's Room), whose character married Bardem's out of spite. Elba will play a dangerous operative named Dupont who will stop at nothing to get his way.

Written by Pete Travis (Dredd) and directed by Pierre Morel (Taken), The Gunman is slated to begin production later this month.

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